Darkstalkers The Series: Dawn of the Huitzil
by Louis the Rogue
Summary: The darkstalkers face a new threat: a seemingly endless barrage of robotic soldiers is destroying the great cities of the Earth. Can our heroes discover what they want and whence they came?
1. Manifestation

"Even if the unit is destroyed, the program will continue."  
  
Man against monster. Monster against self. The story is as old as time. Even in the empires of the ancients, they existed in one form or another: the proverbial 'spirits of the night'. One culture, the Mayans, may have found the first successful defense in history against the plague known as the Darkstalkers.  
  
DARKSTALKERS: DAWN OF THE HUITZIL  
  
CHAPTER ONE: MANIFESTATION  
  
GERDENHEIM CASTLE, GERMANY  
The walls were silent except for the wind creaking around corners. The laboratory was dark and damp: decadent from many years of neglect. Against a red chair in a corner of the room laid the skeletal remains of Professor Schloss Von Gerdenheim, still dressed in his trademark lab coat and plaid pants.  
  
Just then, a figure thundered through the gate. He was large. He was loud. He was Victor Von Gerdenheim, eternal sentinel of these halls. Victor smiled to his creator and gave a thumb up, "Father I am strong! Tell me you are proud of me!"  
  
"Brother, he cannot hear you", a small voice pleaded from the shadows.  
  
"Emily", Victor smiled as his sister, far smaller than him by frame and built to resemble a teenage girl instead of a hulking brute, floated into the room.  
  
Emily looked at her brother with pity, "Oh Victor, but that you could understand: the shock that gave you life is the shock that made the doctor silent."  
  
Victor sat down and scratched his head, "Life makes death?"  
  
Emily shook her head, "No, electricity makes death, and you must always use yours to help others around you. Only electrocute those who cause violence and death."  
  
Victor nodded silently, believing he understood her wise words.  
  
Suddenly, a loud rumbling buzz was going overhead. Emily pointed up, "Look Victor! Jet pl- those are not jets!"  
  
She was exactly right. The creatures which now were beginning to dominate the sky above were much too small to be a jet, as could be proved by the fact that they were lower in the sky than even a helicopter at this point and details could be made out.  
  
The strange things were still immense by comparison to most creatures and resembled nothing so much as moving suits of exotically crafted silver armor. However, the notion that they were simply armor for something else would be incorrect, as proved by the strange conjunction of the limbs, not so much into rivets, but into distinct limbs, and also the jet stream fire erupting from the back of their hollow legs.  
  
As the sky began to slowly blacken with the creatures, all moving in a close aerial phalanx, yet another strange thing began occurring. Explosions were going off on the ground in and around the village just below in the valley. The village, known as Krutstrich, had been a small town for many years before including a new factory to bring in more business, more population, and a better living for all.  
  
As the village began to burn with the explosions, Victor focused his vision and soon recognized the horrible truth; these 'bombs' were dropping from under the bellies of the bizarre creatures that were flying over the town.  
  
Emily looked to Victor, "We had best hide ourselves brother."  
  
Victor narrowed his pale eyes, "Go inside, Emily. Go now."  
  
As several of the things landed outside the castle, roughly five in all, Victor was there to greet them. He took a stance and narrowed his eyes, "Get away from my house: you are not welcome here."  
  
One of them stepped forward, its' red, eye-like structures built into its' head blinking twice with a light from within. "No permission requested or required", the creature said in a hollow, mechanical tone. No sooner has the thing spoken when a strange compartment opened in its' midsection, firing a single missile.  
  
Flung off his feet by the missile, Victor was launched through a wall. A loud explosion went off, rocking the castle but surprisingly not tearing it down much more than it already had been. As the smoke from the missile escaped the pores of the broken fortress, a figure walked forward, silhouetted by the mists.  
  
Victor ran forward, shouting in rage as a fist charged with a massive dose of lightning and rammed itself through the metallic skull of the thing that had fired the missile at him. His hand reached back, pulling out the contents: broken wires.  
  
As what now appeared to be a headless machine fell to the ground in a clanging heap, the other four surrounded the sentinel. Victor was in a mid- stance.  
  
As the machines moved in around him, Victor noticed a bizarre buzz of a chant emitting from them. They were repeating the same phrase over and over. His eyes grew wide with fear as he began to make out the exact words:  
  
"Omega Inevitable: Extermination sequence imminent."  
  
YUKON TERRITORY, CANADA  
Quatos yawned great big and stretched his strong arms. Guard duty was boring sometimes, but somebody had to do it: you never know when trouble could strike!  
  
He leaned against his tent and looked up at the sky. It was cloudy as usual, and he thought he saw a plane overhead. Then another, and another. Strange as it seemed, these 'planes' were filling up the entire sky. What was going on??  
  
The horrendous buzz began to frighten the children of Sasquatch Village. Quatos came running in to tell the others the news, but he was already too late. The 'planes', which turned out to be strange metal things, were landing in pairs. Already there were eight pairs landed on this area alone.  
  
Quatos squared off with the machines, "Get out or I'll beat you out!"  
  
The machines began marching forward, four of them grabbing him by the shoulders and holding him fast. Another walked forward and held up an arm, which switched some gears and pistons around, transforming into a javelin- like weapon pointed directly at Quatos' forehead, "Immediate termination necessary."  
  
"Terminate this!" The machines and Sasquatch alike looked up to see a figure standing atop a high hill. The figure was Aulbath. Aulbath crossed his arms in a sign that was intended both as a curse to the machines and as a trigger for one of his best signature moves: Ocean Rage. A gigantic tidal wave rose up behind him.  
  
As the wave rolled down over Sasquatch Village, the ice-dwelling Sasquatch easily skated their way to safety while the machines were frozen fast.  
  
Aulbath flipped forward off the mountain and landed beside Quatos, giving him a helping hand to his feet, "Are you alright my friend?"  
  
Quatos nodded slowly, "The ice should hold them for awhile. How many?"  
  
Aulbath looked up at the sky, still filled with the machines, "There's no telling at this point. I was on my way home when I saw them all headed this way, destroying things as they went. Now I see they are still headed north."  
  
"Quatos!" a gruff voice called. The Sasquatch King, a large bellied old Sasquatch with a beard and a skull crown approached the guardsman, "I am sending you on a mission with our friend Aulbath. Find out what is happening and stop it."  
  
Aulbath and Quatos both nodded, "Yes Sir."  
  
PASADENA, CALIFORNIA  
Felicia dived from atop a dumpster, slicing the head clean off one of the machines with a claw, "yeeeeeeeeow!!!" She landed the dive beside Jon, who was busily fending off several machines of his own with various Beast Cannon attacks.  
  
To say the two heroes were deadlocked in a war with the strange invaders was a massive understatement: this was a gang-up, roughly two thousand to two. In larger cities like this, the machines were more frequent for some reason and the sky was black with them as they rained down in squads, attacking the city itself.  
  
Talbain rammed one of them into a wall with a hard-edged Beast Cannon, disabling it, but just as he did another was right there to take its' place and knock him into the very same wall with a large metal claw.  
  
The machine never saw the sword blade as it impaled it through the back and tore it to bits from within. As the machine fell, there stood Donovan Baine and a small girl.  
  
Another machine struck out at Donovan, but as the little girl gave it a threatening glare with her cold eyes, the machine was flung as if by a bizarre forcefield.  
  
Several machines were surrounding Felicia at this point, square fields of electricity in front of them that were closing in on her. She was stanced and ready for whatever was to come, but she really hoped it wouldn't come to her death.  
  
Luckily, two figures flipped over the machines and stanced at her side. Hsien-Ko and Mei-Ling double stanced and grinned, "Let's do this!"  
  
As the machines closed in Felicia struck out in a few lightning fast claw attacks, shocking her paw as she broke the barrier and blasted the machines into rubble.  
  
Hsien-Ko looked to Mei-Ling, who nodded, placing a hand to her forehead and turning herself into a Chinese charm, which flew to Hsien-Ko and landed on her hat. Hsien-Ko ran at the machines, her body glowing white as she began to calmly and methodically chop them apart at the seams.  
  
Between Donovan's sword attacks, Talbain's Beast Cannon, and the little girl's mystical powers, the machines were being forced back from them in no time.  
  
Soon enough, the entire group was back to back, fending off the attackers with incredible ease despite the seemingly impossible odds. After long enough of this, one of the machines ordered, "All units retreat to configure new strategy", and as quickly as the plague of mechanical locusts had come, they were gone.  
  
Felicia looked to the sky, "What a wicked bunch of whatchamacallits", she looked to the newcomers, "Good thing these guys showed up."  
  
Talbain looked to Donovan, "I guess that's two I owe you now."  
  
Donovan closed his eyes, "It is I who owe the world all my life."  
  
The little girl looked up at him, "You speak too harshly of your blood."  
  
Hsien-Ko's eyes closed as well, her voice now the calm voice of Mei- Ling, "The dhamphir's blood is tainted with the evil poison of the vampire, but all the same, he has a human heart in the end."  
  
Donovan turned away, "My personal struggles are not the concern of this group. We are united here to discover the nature of the threat that ensnares our world: a world that I have vowed to protect from the dark, and all evils, with my life."  
  
Talbain nodded, "I agree. We should be worried about where the hell that many mechanical soldiers could have come from, and we should prepare for future attacks."  
  
Felicia grinned, "Sounds like we're in need of a detective."  
  
Donovan looked to Hsien-Ko, "This is where the twins specialize. What they lack in physical powers they more than make up for in their knowledge of the dark and its' roots in all cultures: they have been in the business since the 1700's."  
  
Hsien-Ko's eyes opened and she scowled, now speaking with her own voice, "Hey! Whadda ya mean 'lack in physical power'? We've saved your butt!"  
  
Hsien-Ko's eyes grew calm again as she spoke with Mei-Ling's voice, "Please sister, be calm: he only meant to imply we are most useful as the brain of this group."  
  
The charm detached and Mei-Ling appeared again.  
  
Hsien-Ko frowned, "Oh alright, but no more smart-ass comments, A'ight?"  
  
Felicia giggled, "Well then, let's get to work!"  
  
DARKSTALKERS: THE SERIES WRITTEN BY REGIS A WELCH DARKSTALKERS © 2004 CAPCOM 


	2. Revelation

"Even if the unit is destroyed, the program will continue."  
  
Man against monster. Monster against self. The story is as old as time. Even in the empires of the ancients, they existed in one form or another: the proverbial 'spirits of the night'. One culture, the Mayans, may have found the first successful defense in history against the plague known as the Darkstalkers.  
  
DARKSTALKERS: DAWN OF THE HUITZIL  
  
CHAPTER TWO: REVELATION  
  
Hsien-Ko was sprawled out in front of the TV watching the news reports for any more attacks near them. Felicia and the girl were in the kitchen. As for Talbain and Donovan, they were currently outside meditating.  
  
"Sister, I think I may have found something", Mei-Ling came walking in with a dusty old book. Hsien-Ko looked up eagerly, "All ears sis."  
  
Mei-Ling set the book down, pointing at a page, "Take a look."  
  
Hsien-Ko ran her eyes over it, "Secrets of the Mayan Empire. I'm not sure how some book you bought on ancient history helps us much in the present."  
  
Mei-Ling pointed to a picture on the page, "Look again."  
  
As Hsien-Ko's eyes fell over the picture, she was horrified by the image she saw. It was a photo of ancient Mayan pottery with a scene painted on it. The scene clearly depicted the very same creatures they had been fighting carrying off screaming villagers to the backdrop of a burning village.  
  
Hsien-Ko looked to her sister, "And I thought history was boring."  
  
Mei-Ling took the book, "It's mythology sister. The Mayans had a very simple name for these beings: The Huitzil. According to the legend, people in the Mayan empire lived in harmony with nature for fear that the Huitzil would come and destroy them if they became too civilized and began destroying Mother Earth."  
  
Hsien-Ko winced, "Kind've a harsh punishment if you ask me. Besides, that's just a myth made up to scare people into being tree huggers and all. Right?"  
  
Mei-Ling looked out the window of Felicia's apartment, "I am not so sure. Whatever we faced was very real, and we have seen 'myths' become reality before."  
  
Just in the next room, the kitchen, Felicia was busily cooking over a stove while the little girl sat at a table looking outside with emotionless eyes. Just by looking at the long, brown-braided little girl you could tell she had seen way too much for being only a child.  
  
Felicia took a plate of brownies out of the oven and began to cut them into little squares, then put one on a plate and offered it to the girl with a smile, "Here ya go!"  
  
She simply looked to the brownies, then to Felicia like she could cry.  
  
Felicia's ears drooped, "Aren't you even going to try it?"  
  
The girl slowly picked up the brownie, and placed it in her mouth, "Chocolate bean powder, sugar, flour, eggs, and cinnamon. What are they?"  
  
Felicia laughed, "They're brownies silly. You like?"  
  
The girl looked up at her for a long moment, then slowly, awkwardly smiled and nodded, "I like them very much."  
  
Felicia grinned, "So what's your name?"  
  
The girl looked out the window again, "Anita."  
  
Outside where she was looking, two figures sat in meditation. Jon Talbain was trying to figure out what was wrong with Donovan. He had never seen the usually calm monk so tense before. Could it be the kid he had picked up?  
  
His mind was swimming with questions, but all he could get out was, "The girl is very strong. Is she yours?" Donovan shook his head and resumed meditation.  
  
Talbain breathed a heavy sigh, "Okay then, perhaps you tell me what you've been up to for the last year or so since we met at the shack?"  
  
Donovan opened his eyes, looking away, "Her name is Anita. I found her amongst the rubble of a burning caravan. She was the sole survivor of a darkstalker attack and says nothing more about it. I sense a great turmoil inside her brought on by her strange powers and it reminded me of myself. I dressed her wounds and found the remains of a doll she had been asking about, headless though it was. Since then she has followed me and we do our best to help each other discover the truth."  
  
Talbain was confused, "The truth?"  
  
Donovan looked into his eyes, "We all fight for our own reasons, Jon Talbain. You fight to protect the ones you love, yes, but you also fight to be free of the beast within. I too have inner demons, but they are not the same as yours."  
  
Talbain's eyes closed: he understood now.  
  
At the front door came a knock. The sisters looked to the door and Felicia went to answer it. When she opened it, there stood Aulbath and the much larger Quatos behind him. Aulbath wasn't his jovial self today, "Is Jon around?"  
  
Fifteen minutes later, everyone was gathered around the kitchen table discussing the current events over a dinner Felicia had been kind enough to cook.  
  
Talbain's eyebrows furrowed, "So, they're headed north."  
  
"That's right", Aulbath said, munching down on catfish.  
  
"Well that's interesting, especially based on what Lin-Lin said", Hsien-Ko blinked, "You tell 'em sis!"  
  
Mei-Ling nodded, "This is true, the Huitzil as they're called, originate from the Mayan mythology, and the Mayan Empire was located in South America."  
  
Quatos crossed his large arms, "I don't get it. What do these guys want with the North Pole anyway? Seems like a long way for nothing."  
  
Just then, Anita came running in, "Donovan!"  
  
Donovan's head whirred in her direction, "What is wrong???"  
  
Her eyes were actually showing fear, "On the television!"  
  
Everyone got up and walked in to see the news report:  
  
"It's a terrible day for Mother Earth. The bizarre robot invaders have begun separating chunks from the polar ice cap which, as we speak, are floating downward toward the northern continents. These rash actions could herald the beginning of the next ice age, and with it, the extinction of the human race. A military-"  
  
Felicia turned the TV off, "This is horrible. How do we stop them?"  
  
Talbain gritted his teeth, "Any way we can!"  
  
"Right!" Quatos slammed a fist down on the coffee table, breaking it, then blushed with embarrassment, "Erm, sorry."  
  
Donovan, the normally quiet, spoke up, "I have a plan."  
  
As everyone turned to look, he continued, "If these are indeed the Huitzil, we know they are the mechanical monsters of the Mayan Empire. If we are to weed out this infestation of evil, I suggest we start at the roots."  
  
Aulbath rubbed his temples, "You know, I heard a story once about lights above the pyramids. Lights that shined once every decade. The elders of my empire said this lighting came in a mathematical pattern."  
  
"Then it's settled", Hsien-Ko nodded firmly, "We're going south."  
  
DARKSTALKERS: THE SERIES WRITTEN BY REGIS A WELCH DARKSTALKERS © 2004 CAPCOM 


	3. Affirmation

"Even if the unit is destroyed, the program will continue."

Man against monster. Monster against self. The story is as old as time. Even in the empires of the ancients, they existed in one form or another: the proverbial 'spirits of the night'. One culture, the Mayans, may have found the first successful defense in history against the plague known as the Darkstalkers.

DARKSTALKERS: DAWN OF THE HUITZIL

CHAPTER THREE: AFFIRMATION

GIZA, EGYPT

What would first appear to be an army perched in waiting amonst the sandstorm was actually the surviving remnants of the greatest dynasty to ever rule over Ancient Egypt. These were the flock of the pharoah whose powers were so great that the tombs could not hold him in the afterlife. Responding to the call of his people, he had been ressurrected to fight for their freedom. This charismatic king was Anakaris-Ra.

And at the front of them, barring the way of the coming clouds of black, was none other than the formerly mentioned. Anakaris had taken his more human looking form: a form that was most resembling what he looked like in life but much stronger. A tall, well built Egyptian male in the garb of the pharoah. After all, he was a god now.

Pharoah had used his magic to scan the area for a hundred thousand miles around his desert oasis: the oasis of his people. He had felt many lives fading, most of them in groups that passed on all at once. Some sort of mass genocide was taking place, and it appeared to be heading for them next. Such a thing would not be permitted here.

As the sun began to set, the people cried out in terror as the cloud began to hum with a mechanical buzz. One of the elders reached out, "Oh Pharoah, but that you could spare us an untimely death once more. This is not the way a mortal should die!"

Anakaris looked on at the building scene of doom, surveying the oncoming invaders with his glowing white eyes, "Fear not, old one, for I am not among the mortals anymore. I am Pharoah, and I will live forever."

With this said, the Pharoah dashed forward, assuming his true form: the Mummy Pharoah. He reared his head back, inhaling a huge gust of sand, and blew it forward for several miles in a storm-like wave at the advancing beings. All was a roar and a howl for the longest time. Then, as the stormy wall of wind and dust cleared up, the horrible truth was revealed: though some of the things had ceased movement, just as many were moving forward to take their place and so the war machine had been undaunted.

With another mighty roar, Anakaris attempted the same move again, and again to the same effect. His eyes widened as one of them came within studying range and he saw that these were not creatures at all, "This is not of the gods!"

The machines surrounded him and outstretched their right claws simulaneously. One of them spoke from its verbal unit, "Subject "Pharoah Anakaris-Ra", you have been found guilty of promoting and leading the construction of a man-made empire. Necessary sentence has been decided upon as immediate termination."

The machines eyes blinked bright red once, then faded, as the crystals on their foreheads began to beam brightly with a shimmering light. The light focused itself into into single penetrating beams and fired, all at once. Anakaris never had a chance.

MAYA, SOUTH AMERICA

As the boat pulled into the harbor, a crowd of people began pouring off of it. Now that the northern hemisphere was freezing over, everyone believed they could survive the disaster by going south. Among the more calm yet most disconcerting by appearance of the travelers was a group that consisted of a tall, muscular man with a large sword, a small girl with large cold eyes, two oddly dressed girls who appeared to be twins, a green fish-man, a giant white sasquatch, a catgirl wearing jeans and a loose pink button up, and a lean young man with silver hair dressed in a black t-shirt and jeans with his favorite pair of brown leather boots.

Talbain looked towards the pyramids leering at them from just over the mountains, "This is it. Anyone who doesn't think they have what it takes to handle these things should turn back now. As for me-", and that said, he bounded off.

Felicia immediately took off after on all fours. Donovan looked deathly serious as usual, and as he walked off after them, Anita followed like she always did. Hsien-Ko and Mei-Ling looked to each other, nodded simultaneously with an equally synchronized "tough girl" grunt, and walked off fist clenched and smirks pasted. Aulbath looked to Quatos, "As so it begins my friend." Quatos just smiled, "Ready when you are."

VILLAGE JUST OUTSIDE THE MAYAN RUINS

It was a ghost town. The kind that reminded you of that final scene in some John Wayne movie where there was nobody in sight but the hero (in this case heroes) and whoever was about to square off. The dusty tumbleweeds even rolled across the ground as the eight travelers began to investigate.

Felicia sniffed the air, "If anyone's around I can't smell them: there's too much dust." Mei-Ling was already on the case, her scrutinizing eyes searching for any clues. Finally, her eyes closed and she spoke calmly, "One thing is certain. Whatever happened here was not the work of the Huitzil. The buildings are intact."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, that is, until a haggard man came running out in torn up clothes, his eyes wide with terror. He fell to his knees in front of Felicia, who let out a slight scream as he clung to her leg, "Ya gotta help me! He's coming!"

Felicia's eyes widened, "Who? Who's coming!" The man tilted his head a bit, shaking unstably with mortal fear, "Get me outta here!!!"

No sooner had he uttered those final words than a rot-yellow rib pierced upwards from the ground, impaling through his heart and out his back before flinging him into the air and dropping nothing so much as a bloody shell. The rib retracted into the ground.

Everyone took a stance, ready for anything the bizarre entity could conjure up, but nothing appeared to be happening. However, just then a scream was heard from what appeared to be an old churchtower down the street and to the right.

Hsien-Ko ran off in that direction, "I'm taking care of this and nobody try and stop me. Besides, you guys have a mission to complete!"

"Don't be a fool", Talbain started to run after but was stopped by a large hand. Donovan looked towards the girl steadfastly, "Let her go Jon Talbain. She can only be taught firsthand. And she is technically right. We must deal with a problem on a much larger scale than this town with or without her assistance."

Talbain growled slightly and pushed his hand away. He turned toward the pyramids and kept walking, "You heard the man, let's get going!"

The others simply followed, no questions asked. When Talbain got that determined glare he always meant business, and no matter how bad things got, if there was a way to come out on top he would find it. They all knew it. They all believed it. Jon Talbain, without a doubt, was the leader of this pack.

Hsien-Ko walked into the church tower, not sure what to expect but sure she should expect anything. She looked around the scene, which was mostly hidden in shadows except for the dim light shining through from the hot sun. It seemed to be mostly wood with some hay, but there were ropes in the middle that seemed to extend up into nothingness while dragging on the ground below.

She narrowed her eyes. The fool had obviously climbed the ropes in order to hide out and surprise her later at the top. The only problem was she was trouble on two legs and in this tower you could only go so far up before you had nowhere else to go but back down again. He had slipped up big time and she was going to 'make lemonade' of it.

As she began walking toward the rope, she felt a sudden breeze, or what she thought was a breeze, chill through her bones. She looked up and muttered, "You can't scare me you piece of trash 'cuz I don't scare so easy."

No sooner had she said it than one of the ropes came alive, circling around her with amazing speed and tightening around her in an inescapable knot. Two other ropes joined in, tying her tighter and pulling her upwards into the loft of the tower perched high, high above the ground level.

As she was pulled from her feet, she was deafened by the sound of bells. Loud, brass bells rang wildly in her ears, making her want to scream in agony. Even as loud as it was, she could distinctly hear a twisted snicker through it all.

Finally, when she thought her head would at last explode, the ropes threw her onto the top level of the tower and released, gradually ceasing the noise of the bells. Hsien-Ko stood and looked around, still holding her ears and cursing low now.

She saw him in the shadows beyond her. A gangly silhouette with spiky hair and red eyes glowered out at her. "Does it hurt baby", the creature spoke in a raspy, spattering tone, "I've felt worse. How d'ya think I ended up like this?" The creature walked out, revealing his horrific form. Thin albino skin stretched over clear bones and haggard violet trousers barely supported by the black leather belt. Even for the self-professed "Zombie King", Zabel Zarock looked pretty bad off.

Hsien-Ko's look of terror quickly composed into a confident smirk at seeing this would be an easy kill, "In that case I'll be glad to relieve you of the pain of existence!" She charged forward, slicing vertically upward with her metallic claw weapon. Zabel simply backflipped, narrowly avoiding the slash and landed on his back, but rolling into a decent crouch stance. It was pretty obvious to Hsien-Ko that this guy was, or had been at one time, a pretty good fighter, but now his techniques were as sloppy as a drunk.

He lunged at her, "Here's somethin' fer ya!" As he half-swung his fist, she turned her head to the side, dodging the blow. He staggered back, raising the skin where a brow would be and panting, "I can't hack it no more. Jes' do it already: finish me off. If I can't even beat the likes of you I'm in pitiful shape I am."

At first, Hsien-Ko was more than willing to comply and raised her claw for a coup de grace, but as she looked again at this tragic thing wasting in a cumbersome crouch before her, she came to a very odd realization. Once upon a time, this 'thing' had been someone. Once upon a time it had to have been a genius in its' own right to be this intelligent as a ghoul. Not only that, but if it could be reasoned with, there was chance it could be brought to fight alongside her against a common threat.

She lowered her claw and glared, "No." Zabel glowered up at her, "What is this, some kind've bad joke!? You're a darkhunter now hunt me!" Hsien-Ko turned away, smiling confidently to herself, "Not a chance: you're too much of a weakling."

Zabel was enraged. Too weak to win a fair fight was one thing, but too weak to be worth the kill was just plain insulting. He rushed the hunter hard, screaming bloody murder as his eyes flashed with rage only to end up smacked against the wall and held firmly in place by his adversary who had pinned him their with her own body.

She leaned in and narrowed her brown eyes at him, "That's a nasty temper you've got there bud. Too bad all of that rage is going to waste. Instead of wasting away here like a loser, why don't you try joining the winning side for once, hm?"

Zabel was speechless. He had received innumerable taunts and derogatory insults in his unnaturally extended life, but only once before had anyone dared, or even bothered, to speak to him on this level. His pride had been shattered that day and he had been in a sullen retreat since, especially since all of his favorite feeding grounds were mysteriously being leveled and kicked to the curb just like him. His head hung low.

Hsien-Ko's eyes narrowed even more, "Fine. You think about it. I've got to go and help my friends." With that she threw him aside like a rag doll and dived downward from the loft, landing in a crouch and exiting the tower.

MAYA RUINS

The golden pyramids shone brightly in the sunlight. Up to now they had never been so radiant. The occurrence had been most befuddling for the officials, and now that those officials were busy handling the sudden increase in panicked tourists, it was a perfect opportunity for the darkstalkers to enter the ruins and do some research of their own into the exact cause of the sudden invasion.

The doors, having been absent for centuries, were obviously wide open and so entry was easy enough. Once inside, Mei-Ling took out a glowing stick-like instrument and held it out in front of them as a crude flashlight to lead them down the dark corridors of the structure's interior.

After multiple 'wet finger' checks for air they came upon a spot where more air was rushing in and knew they had found a larger room. They entered, expecting to be attacked by a barrage of robots, but were not expecting to hear a vaguely humanoid echo of a scream followed by a flash of electric waves fired in their direction.

The party successfully dodged the majority of the lightning, sustaining minor burns, and looked on into the darkness to see what was waiting there. A hulking figure, wreathed in chains, was glowing blue with electricity and screaming in agony.

Quatos clenched a large fist, "I'll handle this guy." Donovan placed a hand out in front of him, "No, I have met this one before. He is generally peaceful if left alone."

Talbain stepped forward, "Sorry, but if he's as peaceful as you say, I can't just leave him like that. I'm going to get him out of this place."

Felicia nodded, "Me too! He looks pitiful like that!"

The two of them walked forward and began attempting to tear away at the chains with their claws, but were only shocked back several feet. Felicia blew on her burned paws while Talbain assumed his wolf man form and tried again, gripping the chains tightly and pulling with all his might. It was just too much and he was thrown back against a wall with a howl that was silenced as he smacked against the hard stone.

Felicia ran over to help him up, "Jon!" She had just barely sat him up when his eyes snapped open, "I can do this!" He slowly stood and limped over to the creature in chains, who was still trembling wildly with the voltage and wailing with rage and terror.

As he reached out to try again, a finned hand stopped him. "Wait", Aulbath said with a smile, "You're going to need some help. Maybe four hands can handle the voltage better than two?" Donovan stepped forward, "How about six." Felicia stood up and walked beside Donovan, "Eight ought to do it." Finally, Quatos bounded up to the creature as well. The others looked to him with surprise and he flushed, "Well hey! I have big hands right? More cushioning!"

They closed their eyes, breathed in, breathed out, and grabbed hold at once, yanking as hard as they could. The shock was still intense, but with some work and some real elbow grease, the chains began snapping inside of five minutes. The group let go and was thrown onto their backs as the creature stood up.

The creature in the chains struggled, bursting free of his prison at long last and tossing the horrible metal aside. Panting heavily he looked to the others with his now dull white eyes, "You helped me. Why?"

Donovan slowly raised himself to one knee, "Victor Von Gerdenheim, I must request your assistance in a quest to destroy these automaton invaders before they permanently deface the Earth." The large man closed his eyes, and passed out.

Victor walked over to him and lifted him up slowly in his arms, looking towards a wall and narrowing his eyes almost into slits, "As you wish, holy man."

DARKSTALKERS: THE SERIES WRITTEN BY REGIS A WELCH

DARKSTALKERS © 2004 CAPCOM ALL RIGHTS RESERVED


	4. Termination

"Even if the unit is destroyed, the program will continue."

Man against monster. Monster against self. The story is as old as time. Even in the empires of the ancients, they existed in one form or another: the proverbial 'spirits of the night'. One culture, the Mayans, may have found the first successful defense in history against the plague known as the Darkstalkers.

DARKSTALKERS: DAWN OF THE HUITZIL

CHAPTER FOUR: TERMINATION

As he opened his eyes, Donovan found that his burns had been dressed in a makeshift light blue cloth obviously torn from a large shirt. The others had been given the same treatment and the obvious fixer upper was sitting by the doorway to the room, emitting a faint luminescence via the electricity coursing through his body.

Talbain looked over to see him awake and nodded slowly, "How are your hands? Mine are still a bit tingly." Donovan stood up, "I will live."

Mei-Ling, Anita, Felicia, Aulbath, and Quatos were all huddled around in a circle talking amongst themselves when Felicia peeked up to see Donovan awake, "Hey there big guy; sleep well?" She grinned cheerfully as if they weren't still in danger.

Mei-Ling rose to her feet, "Now that the entire party is roused, we ought to keep moving before we attract any more attention than we have." "Agreed", Talbain nodded firmly, "How do you suggest we go about our research?"

Mei-Ling shined a light up against the wall, "Normally in pyramids there are some sort of paintings which are relevant to events of the times. If indeed the Huitzil are a product of the Mayan myths, there should be mention of them in the walls somewhere. However, this room holds no such paintings and is therefore useless to us."

Quatos frowned, "All this talking is boring. Why don't we just go smash the dumb things and get it over with?" At this, Anita spoke up, "That would be unwise. Then -he- would know we are here and he will come."

All eyes shifted to the girl but Aulbath was the first to voice his opinion, "If you don't mind me asking chico, who is 'he'?" Anita closed her eyes and spoke slowly, almost dramatically, "He is the one who collects worlds. He is the Ruler of the Universe, as mortal men know it. He is the bringer and taker of light and life. He is Pyron."

Quatos blinked, "The kid has a screw loose!" "I'm not so sure", Talbain commented with grave tension in his voice, "Anita's powers of mind have served us in the past and I would be a fool to doubt her now. Can you tell us more?"

Anita shook her head, "No, I am sorry; that is the extent of the vision." Talbain's eyes lowered, "I see. In that case, you all heard her clearly enough: we don't attack the Huitzil unless they attack us first. Until then, we learn anything else we can."

"This is insanity", Aulbath shook his head, "If we attack them we bring about the end of the world. If we don't attack them they bring it about by themselves. We're damned if we do and damned if we don't so I say let's do it."

Quatos slammed a hard fist on the ground, making a thunderous echo, "YEAH! Let's show those things what for!" The noise was a bit more than he had anticipated though, and the shock waves trembled awake some unwanted residents of the pyramid. A whirring buzz could distinctly be heard just down the hall and getting closer.

Talbain flashed Quatos a glare, "You fool! We might as well kiss our asses goodbye after that little stunt!" "Please be calm Jon Talbain", Mei-Ling broke in as quietly as she could to still be heard over the noise, "We have no time and must prepare ourselves for the fray to come."

Donovan took a stance, drawing his sword, "Indeed. This is an inevitable event now and the time has come to sink or swim." Talbain nodded and took his stance, wishing he'd worn something besides these jeans. The others stanced in unison behind the two of them.

There was a long pause. It seemed like forever, waiting in that darkness, and just as if they had known exactly when the group would drop their guards, eight Huitzil broke into the large room through a wall on cue.

One of them spoke for the entire unit, "Intruder alert: destroy on sight." Beams began charging at the top of their heads. "Get out of the way!", Victor shouted, diving into the direct path of several of the beams as they fired.

"Victor!", Donovan shouted, jumping into the fray and slicing horizontally at one of the robots, cutting it clean in half. Sparks flew as the severed halves fell to the floor.

A bit of smoke cleared, just enough to see through in the dim light, and Victor stood up with minor burns and a slight smirk on his face, "Electricity is just fire with a bite. Your tricks are getting old." With this remark, he promptly dashed forward and gave one of the Huitzil his own display of 'fire': an electric smash attack that sent parts of the automaton flying across the room.

Talbain grinned, baring his sharp lupine teeth, "I can play by those rules." He beast cannoned forward at another of the Huitzil, smashing it like a soda can against one of the walls and sending sparks showering.

"Subjects deemed too powerful for this unit", one of the robots said out of nowhere, "Sending emergency backup signal now."

"Oh no you don't", Aulbath dived forward, spin kicking the head off of the one that had said that. The head fell to the floor muttering, "Malfunction. Malfunction", before shutting down due to failure of power.

"Units down. Sending emergency backup signal", several of the remaining units said in unison. A loud signal similar to what you hear every time you use an internet dial-up began ringing through the air as they called for backup.

"Shit, we've got to get out of here!" Talbain looked around furiously.

"ENOUGH", Quatos shouted and lunged forward, swinging a massive fist that knocked the remaining units in the room completely for a loop and shattered them into the nearest solid object which was fortunately a wall.

Felicia sniffed the air, still in a stance, "More metal headed this way. A big chunk of it too: why am I not surprised?"

Everyone clustered together, trying their best to circle the wagons one way or another. However, they were not expecting what happened next. A shrill note came shredding through the room as it erupted into light. It looked like certain death.

But then, when the light faded, the entire party found themselves somehow hovering in the air. In the center of them was Anita, eyes closed tightly as she attempting to hold the barrier that had protected them from their demise.

Quatos clung to Aulbath, "Ok I take back the loose screw comment, just please don't leave us hanging like this!" Slowly the barrier lowered with them to the ground and Anita opened her eyes, panting heavily.

Donovan looked up, "There!" Above them, already in wait, was a seemingly endless legion of red eyed silhouettes that were quite obviously more Huitzil in the cold, uncaring darkness that permeated this golden pyramid.

"Intruder Alert", the began to chant in unison, "All targets to be destroyed on sight. All targets within range. Commence fire in 5. 4. 3. 2."

All was silent. The lights went off except for the glow stick Mei-Ling was carrying and Victor's faintly glowing body. Felicia's eyes widened as her cat eyes peered up into the darkness, "EVERYBODY RUN!"

The group exited the room just in time as countless metal bodies, completely lifeless, began littering the room until it was completely full. There was no telling what had happened but the heroes didn't want to stick around to find out. They exited the pyramid in a manner of fifteen minutes.

The world was not the same as it had been when they had entered however. Now there was not one sun, but two, in the sky which burned an eternal fiery orange. The land around seemed unchanged but the heat was almost unbearable.

Aulbath stood beside Talbain as they looked up, "What the hell happened?" Talbain was at a loss for words, "I don't know. I just don't know."

DARKSTALKERS: THE SERIES WRITTEN BY REGIS A WELCH

DARKSTALKERS © 2004 CAPCOM ALL RIGHTS RESERVED


End file.
